Harvard Management Company, which oversees the university's endowment, disclosed in its Q1 2026 13F filing with the SEC that it has completely exited its Ether ETF positions. The firm held approximately $87 million in BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) at the end of Q4 2025 and sold the entire stake during the first quarter. It also reduced its Bitcoin ETF exposure by about 2.3 million shares but still holds over 3 million shares of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), valued at nearly $117 million at quarter-end prices.
Ether Down Over 50% From ATH, Foundation Turmoil Adds to Pressure
Harvard's Ether selloff comes as ETH has fallen more than 50% from its all-time high of nearly $5,000 set in August 2025. Meanwhile, the Ethereum Foundation (EF) has faced a wave of departures: researchers Julian Ma and Carl Beek left in 2026, bringing the total to eight exits since January; longtime researcher and former project manager Josh Stark also left in April. These changes trace back to EF's organizational restructuring in early 2025. In March 2026, EF issued a new mission statement reaffirming its commitment to decentralization, privacy, open-source software, and censorship resistance. Journalist Laura Shin expressed skepticism: "The core values are worth defending, but the Foundation should also care about tokenomics and raising the price of the native asset. When all rivals are fighting for market share, EF's stance of staying above the fray is worrying."
Bitcoin Position Remains Substantial; University Endowment Strategies Diverge
Despite reducing its Bitcoin ETF holdings, Harvard's remaining IBIT stake is still sizable, indicating relatively bullish sentiment on BTC. This aligns with a broader trend: institutional views on ETH are splitting. Dartmouth College's recent filing shows it built a Solana ETF position worth about $14 million, highlighting a growing divergence in how U.S. university endowments approach crypto allocation.
📎 Data sources: Harvard Management Company Q1 2026 13F filing (SEC EDGAR); comparison baseline: Q4 2025 13F filing (held ~$86.82M ETH ETF in Q4, zero in Q1)